Emergency department trolley crisis
Deputy Kenny warned that overcrowding in emergency departments was an annual and deadly crisis rooted in long-term capacity problems. The Tánaiste disputed simplistic bed comparisons and said health service productivity had changed the picture.
On Tuesday last, the HSE addressed the Joint Committee on Health on the ongoing crisis in our emergency departments. As we know, hundreds of people have been left on trolleys in public hospitals. This is a perpetual crisis that happens every year and it is completely unacceptable in a country that is quite wealthy. This is obviously a legacy issue related to capacity, given that 40 years ago there were more beds in the public health system than there are now. This is why the crisis has been brewing. Emergency department consultants have said that people will die because of the trolley crisis. People will continue to die because of the lack of a plan. The winter plan is out the door; it is crisis management in relation to the HSE. Where does this lead us? It is not acceptable that those who have paid taxes throughout their lives and who rely on the public health system are left for days on trolleys. It is just not acceptable.
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The first point I would make is that 40 years ago the world of health was vastly different from today. We have had far more productivity in the health service in the intervening years, particularly in terms of the revolution in day-case activity, day-case procedures, length of stay in hospitals and so forth. All of this has radically changed the capacity issue. One cannot compare the number of beds we had 15 or 20 years ago to the number of beds we have today and draw simplistic conclusions. That does not stand up to any scrutiny at all. We are treating far more people today than we ever would have and are doing so far faster, in terms of time spent in hospital. The massive, exponential growth over the last two decades in day-case diagnostics and surgical procedures has revolutionised health productivity. That has to be said.
The Deputy is correct regarding trolleys but it is a combination of capacity and human resource management, which is key. Governance is also key in terms of the health service, in respect of dealing with the huge increase in disease this year.